The real challenge was moving it all back to Germany once I'd decided I was moving back myself ... ;) Shelf organization went through several permutations even before that, and what you're seeing here is only a snap shot -- it might all look totally different yet again in a matter of weeks, or months at most. (In fact, the pics of the "history / politics nonfiction" shelf do represent two different phases of organization of said shelf.) It's a neverending process! :)
Wow, I am EXTREMELY impressed. You're my shelf-idol now! This is my life goal that will come true in 50 years. Unfortunately, since my family is known to move around A LOT, I usually just buy ebooks. :D
No -- it's just the inevitable result of refusing to ever even going near Kindles and e-readers! You end up with a huge pile of printed paper that needs to be organized and stored ...
An act of self-defense, actually -- and improvisation. I bought regular book cases and then had someone add extra shelves on top of them whenever there was no more room left on the shelves of the actual book cases ...
The ones in a row, in the top shelves to the left, are Library of America. The others with black covers sprinkled here and there in the sections center and right are Penguins, yes. (Also the ones in one of the middle rows of the second to left book case.)
I love Penguins. If I could I'd get all my books in Penguin 'black cover' editions, they have such lovely and appropriate cover art and interesting and informative forewords.
Yes, I totally agree. That (in addition to of course recognizing the look) may be why you noticed them on my shelves, too -- I always try to find a method of organization that will let me have at least a few of them next to each other as a set! :)
I can't live with my books organised in any other way than alphabetical by author's last name, no matter the genre (except non fiction is separated from fiction). So my Penguins are scattered amongst all the letters, EXCEPT for my Dickens, I have all the Penguin Dickens except for Dombey and Son and Our Mutual Friend, so they take up a whole shelf and just look so majestic and sophisticated. I think I like looking at them even more than I will like reading them or knowing that I have read them (I haven't read a single word by Dickens, yet).
I totally get that "nice to look at" angle ... and I envy you your Dickens collection!
Most of my shelves are organized alphabetically as well -- the BritLit shelves (second book case from the right, top to bottom except only for the topmost shelf) and what is currently a combined "ancient classics / mythology / philosophy" shelf (topmost / above the two book cases to the right) are not however, and it's no coincidence that these are also the shelves containing the most Penguins! BritLit is organized vaguely -- very vaguely -- chronologically; "ancient classics / mythology / philosophy" equally vaguely in a combination of topical and chronological order.
So by and large, the underlying organizational principles are geographical origin and genre, with the subdivisions organized in some other way in addition -- either alphabetically or chronologically or something trickier! :)
No, actually my apartment isn't all that large -- in fact, if you look at the camera angles in some of these pictures you can sort of tell that all I'm really doing is littering my walls with shelves, and squeezing shelves into virtually every available nook and cranny. I'm soon going to run out of place once and for all, as a matter of fact ... Indeed, I already *did* run out of enough place in order to also be able to store my CDs and DVDs, which are currently being stacked in a more or less disorganized fashion (the CDs especially) two and three racks deep against the living room wall!
The cover art was designed by Udo Lindenberg, the German rock singer (do you happen to know him?). What is *really* cool about this edition is that not only do the spines, taken together, form a picture, but each individual book's cover has an individual design of its own (part of which the spine is as well), so the spines actually are part of two pictures, not one. -- The publisher had a whole special edition artists series at the time; this is just one of those editions. I'm glad I got my hands on it then -- especially as they sold them at virtually no higher price than the regular editions; the whole point was to make these widely affordable. Neat concept, isn't it?
Next, you need to get rid of your furniture. Just keep a comfy chair and a reading lamp. I would like to convert you to e books, but I can see that whilst you still have room to turn around I'm not going to succeed.
You've seen some of Germany's nicest parts, that's for sure.
No, I've never seen Lindenberg live. There are songs of his that I really like (like these two), and to many Germans he's total cult, but I've never been *that* tempted. He's very active in supporting all sorts of social issues, however, and I respect him for that -- and that book edition was the first time I learned he also has an artistic (as in: visual arts) streak.
Very much a guitar person myself, too, though not so much into heavy metal ... more of the Clapton and Knopfler persuasion here, and just generally the stuff that American radio stations have dubbed "classic rock." But I do prefer the GNR incarnation of "Sympathy for the Devil" to that of the Stones, and still turn the radio up at the stuff by Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.
GREAT SHELF THOUGH! I wonder how long it must've taken you to maintain your shelf! :D
Most of my shelves are organized alphabetically as well -- the BritLit shelves (second book case from the right, top to bottom except only for the topmost shelf) and what is currently a combined "ancient classics / mythology / philosophy" shelf (topmost / above the two book cases to the right) are not however, and it's no coincidence that these are also the shelves containing the most Penguins! BritLit is organized vaguely -- very vaguely -- chronologically; "ancient classics / mythology / philosophy" equally vaguely in a combination of topical and chronological order.
So by and large, the underlying organizational principles are geographical origin and genre, with the subdivisions organized in some other way in addition -- either alphabetically or chronologically or something trickier! :)
The cover art was designed by Udo Lindenberg, the German rock singer (do you happen to know him?). What is *really* cool about this edition is that not only do the spines, taken together, form a picture, but each individual book's cover has an individual design of its own (part of which the spine is as well), so the spines actually are part of two pictures, not one. -- The publisher had a whole special edition artists series at the time; this is just one of those editions. I'm glad I got my hands on it then -- especially as they sold them at virtually no higher price than the regular editions; the whole point was to make these widely affordable. Neat concept, isn't it?
I'm already down to to having virtually no cupboards, btw ... all that space is needed for shelves, after all!
-- and one of my favorites, "Cello": https://youtu.be/jjtWnqSW4is
Where in Germany have you been?
No, I've never seen Lindenberg live. There are songs of his that I really like (like these two), and to many Germans he's total cult, but I've never been *that* tempted. He's very active in supporting all sorts of social issues, however, and I respect him for that -- and that book edition was the first time I learned he also has an artistic (as in: visual arts) streak.
Very much a guitar person myself, too, though not so much into heavy metal ... more of the Clapton and Knopfler persuasion here, and just generally the stuff that American radio stations have dubbed "classic rock." But I do prefer the GNR incarnation of "Sympathy for the Devil" to that of the Stones, and still turn the radio up at the stuff by Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.